I Made You
by Sallychan-Stories
Summary: Lemongrab, even with his new companion, is displeased with his current life when he realizes that seemingly everyone but himself has a purpose. When he manages to get a hold of his original file,, can he truly go through fulfilling his purpose? LG/PB, Pink Lemonade
1. Prologue

She could remember the night she'd first began imagining him; the night the thought had first occurred to her that she held within her reach the tools to end her unbearable loneliness. Sure, she had her many citizens she had already brought life to, but she had to care for _them_, not the other way around. She helped them with their minor problems, solving little issues day by day, and for that they gave her their unending affection. But it wasn't the affection she _craved_—because at the end of the day, after her dear Peppermint Butler bid her good rest for the evening, between the scraping and clanking of her lab equipment and the ruffling of her bed sheets—she was_ alone_.

It was a night so many years ago that she realized this, and so shamefully many more before she realized that _she herself_ could remedy it, as she does with all the problems of her citizens. She could still feel the excitement that had welled up from her chest into her throat. It had been so very long since she had even seen the depiction of a "man"—perhaps not a human man (long extinct), but a man all the same. With a body and limbs like her own, a mouth, a nose, ears—all the things she had, that her own and many, if not all, persons of Ooo did not. Well.. perhaps not _all_ the things she had..

She had gotten to work immediately, unable to sleep from such building excitement. Her first ideas had been to make a Candy Prince for herself, someone just like her that could relate to her in every way and enjoy all that she enjoyed. Those ideas were soon scrapped with the recollection of forewarning stories that those creations too similar to creator would feel as though they themselves should take their place, or at least be above their creator, in any sense. That was okay, she assured herself; besides, she was getting a little worn from everything and everyone being sweet and sugary. She had been experimenting with a formula to bring candy life to something _sour_.. Yes, perhaps a change of venue for her new knight? She had giggled at the idea. Still, she didn't want him to be a brainless oaf. No, no, her companion must be smart, able to hold an intellectual conversation, and yet not smarter than her, of course. Maybe a photographic memory, that could come in handy and.. Strength, yes great strength and bravery—a must for a castle's guardian.

She went to bed after several days work in a daze, unable to keep a smile from bubbling to the surface. Soon she would no longer lie in this bed alone; soon He would be here to hold her, to protect her. A bitter sigh escaped her lips as she remembers how thoroughly love-struck she was with this nonexistent man. Her overconfidence had been her downfall. All the traits she had given him—the ones she should have tested first—had turned out far from what she had hoped. Yes he was strong, in fact, stronger than anyone in the kingdom, but his bravery fell not far from reckless insanity. She should have attempted to bring life to a citrus being before him. If she had, she would have known to line his throat with a sweeter tissue, to avoid his first taste from being bitter, and to keep his voice from straining into a shrill cry.

She could still remember his awakening so clearly. Never had one of her creations screamed and flailed, and when his eyes rolled back in his head—a pained expression overcame her. How could she have known? Of course, the high pain tolerance she gave him allowed him to quickly regain himself, and even though she was still shocked by his first reactions to life, the past exhilaration had filled her again. There he was, _right there_! The protector, companion, friend and lover she had made for herself with her bare hands was _right in front of her_! She tries to not let her heart thud with the letdown after letdown she felt so soon after.

He looked exactly how she wanted him to, her knight. Unfortunately, his personality was far from the man she hoped he'd be. His regal stance and presence, though charming to her, was rude and cruel to her citizens. He would ridicule them, and, being the sweet little beings they were, they would only bow their heads and try harder to please their Princess' highest creation. She refused to stand for it. She had tried so hard to get him to act kinder, to be the compassionate soul she had dreamed of over and over again, but it was useless. The sour, lemon heart she gave him seemed to prevent him from the affection candy people can give so easily. He was a danger to her people, and before she could even try to love him the way she had envisioned for weeks she had to rid the Candy Kingdom of him. It was with a heavy heart she set forth construction on a neighboring castle, a castle she named Lemongrab, and sent her knight, now an Earl, away.

And then, again, she was alone.


	2. Purpose

AN: First of all, thank you all so much for your reviews I read every single one, and I never expected this story to get much attention at all so thank you so much! I hope you all enjoy where this story goes, please review with your thoughts and comments, it makes the pain of writing worth it. :')

I'd also like to know that this story was written/planned out before the most recent episode, so Lemongrab's brother is alright. (It takes place a little after Mystery Dungeon?) Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Lemongrab grunted on his throne, displeased with his life at the moment, which, as far as he was concerned, was absolutely _ridiculous, _seeing that he had obtained what he'd long struggled for—companionship. He had wanted citizens for his castle, and after Mother Princess created him a brother they did _just that. _It was so exciting, so absolutely consuming, they, along with their newly created children, had almost starved in the process. He watched in envy as one of his creations toppled over another. Their lives were full of so much _meaning_, they did exactly what they were created to do, which was to populate his Earldom. Even his brother, Lemongrab, served a purpose!—to be_ his_ companion! But what of _himself_, what was _his_ purpose? He'd never had one, as far as he knew. And that fact in itself ate at his sour insides more than he could bear.

After all his citizens were quietly tucked away in their rooms, halls and comfortable nooks and crannies for the night, Lemongrab found himself unable to sleep. He propped his head up against the backboard of his bed and stared out at nothing in particular. It was well into the night by the time his brother jolted up in his adjacent bed and turned to him, sensing something wrong in the air. His white-clad counterpart looked him over and saw nothing immediately wrong. He decided to lie back down if there was no immediate danger but continued to face him.

"What's wrong, Brother?" he asked him in a steady monotone. Lemongrab made an exasperated noise and turned to his resting brother a little more.

"I have no purpose." He whined out. "Mother Princess created every person with a purpose except _me_." His brother frowned.

"You were not created to rule Lemongrab?"

"Nn_no!_ Mother Princess created Lemongrab _for_ Lemongrab!" He stretched his hands out in front of himself, gripping at nothing. "I lived in the Candy Kingdom with the Candy Citizens—" He paused and squinted angrily. "—but I did not 'get along' with the others. Mother Princess chose to send me away because I was not 'sweet' enough. _Whyy_ then would she create a Lemon if she did not want _sour_!?"

The white Lemongrab frowned more and nodded before sitting up again.

"Nnnh.. What if Mother Princess _did_ want sour?—" The black Lemongrab interrupted angrily.

"_We'll never know!_"

"—But we _could!_ Mother Princess writes down many things, hm? Like the Formula for Life?" His brother "hm"ed in agreement. "Then perhaps she wrote down your purpose! _Somewhere in her lab!_"

"_HM!_ Yes, of course! I will find it and then we will know!" Lemongrab smiled, excited at the prospect. The brothers hummed together at the idea forming.

"Yes, yes sleep then! We will plan for your trip to sneak into the laboratory tomorrow!"

"HM!"

* * *

The Lemongrab brothers excitedly packed a small amount of food into one of Lemoncamel's side satchels, buzzing about their plans. So far the plan was simple: Lemongrab would ride with Lemoncamel to the Candy Kingdom that night and easily sneak in as he had done countless times before. After that it becomes a little less thought-out. Lemongrab was unsure exactly where in the castle Princess Bubblegum's laboratory was, and even then where she'd keep such an old document he had no idea—not that that dampened his enthusiasm much. If worst came to worst he could always just ask, but as of now he was too concerned with her giving him some cockamamie story of his creation. No, no, he wanted the real explanation.

Once night fell, he bid his boys and brother goodnight and they bid him good luck. He set out fairly certain he wouldn't even need it.

As he approached the towering Candy Kingdom he proceeded as he had many weeks ago. He first brought Lemoncamel to a very small clearing in the Cotton Candy Forest close to the castle walls. After assuring his mount that there was nothing of danger in the forest as he had numerous times before, he entered the kingdom. He frowned when the guards were so easily distracted by throwing a rock candy into a bush allowing him to sneak past. _What useless protection for his Glob._

He had to duck behind gingerbread homes and peppermint benches over and over again before he found himself at the back of the castle. He took a running start before jumping unreasonably high and grabbing onto a second story window ledge. He was in one of the castle staff's bedrooms, and whoever stayed here wasn't _there_. He groaned. That meant he had come too early in the night and would have to wait out walking the halls until the staff had gone to bed. He stood up more fully and looked around the room. He spotted a couch and decided that would be a good spot to hide until it was late enough.

Wafer came in not an hour later mumbling something about mopping. Black eyes watched him as he fiddled with his alarm clock and laid down in bed making sleepy baby noises. Lemongrab scowled. None of his citizens did that, though, none of them had beds, either. He made a quick mental note to invest in some furniture for his boys. He waited another hour or so before bolting from behind the couch and into the dimly lit hall. He slowed his run into a trot looking around the hallway.

"Nnno.. Not this floor." He muttered to himself.

Lemongrab continued up staircase after staircase, looking out windows and frowning, so _certain_ the lab was higher up. He finally came to a window that looked out over the cotton candy tree he and Princess Bubblegum had sat under when she tried to explain 'Candy Styles' to him and felt that this was the right floor—but he still had no idea where the lab was. If only the previous times he had broken into the castle he'd taken in the layout more with his infallible recall. He turned a corner and noticed a pair of green doors, bigger than the rest in the hall. He stared at them for a moment, unsure if this was what he was searching for. As he stepped closer he could read, in what little light he had, the words, in all capitals, "LAB", scrawled in the middle of both doors. His eyes widened slightly in anticipation, a soft "hm!" escaping through his small smile. As he stepped closer the doors swung open automatically.

He advanced into the laboratory only to stop abruptly when he caught sight of the figure hunched over the desk before him. His black eyes dilated further and he knew it was her—his Mother Princess. Lemongrab held his breath a moment, but the more his eyes adjusted, the sooner he realized she wasn't just hunched over her desk, she was resting on it. When his own heart stopped beating in his ears he could hear her tiny breaths and he blinked in slight disbelief. She had fallen asleep on her desk. He moved in closer to her and looked her over blankly for several minutes, making sure she wasn't playing a joke on him. Once he was satisfied he straightened and looked around the lab, unsure where to start looking for his file. As he stepped toward a filing cabinet, one of the subjects in a high cage behind the desk hissed at him and he, taken off guard, hissed back. His back stiffened when he heard Princess Bubblegum shift behind him. He turned to watch her with wide dark eyes, but she only moved a little in her sleep before lying still again. He relaxed slightly, but winced in annoyance. He'll need to be more careful if he was going to do this without being caught.

The lab was much darker than the hall, but he still managed to find the handle of the top filing cabinet drawer with little fumbling. His pupils widened more, turning even more of his eyes black, as he sifted through the files, ignoring the upset of the subjects above him. He started to scowl as he kept digging but continued to find nothing. He pulled up a file that read "Chocoberry" and sneered. No, this wasn't right, he was created _far_ before her and yet this was so close to the end of the files. He made a strangled noise in annoyance as he reached the end and slammed the drawer shut. He snapped his head around to watch Princess Bubblegum shift again and narrowed his eyes in anger, curling his upper lip further. Maybe she was _hiding_ it from him—maybe she had_ destroyed_ it, in an effort to keep him from knowing? Could she even _be_ so selfish? His irrational anger started to boil underneath his yellow skin, and he began propelling himself towards the person causing it. He stopped at her side, shoulders up high above his collar, sharp teeth showing bright in the dark room, ready to once again defend himself from her harmful ways, when a scratching at the far corner of the room caught his attention enough to stop his arms from continuing forward. It was a candy corn rat, scampering at the glass of its cage, attempting to save its Princess. He scowled again. He could remember getting word that this useless creature had gotten 'the Royal Medal for Heroic Bravery' for 'serving her people well'.

As he squinted at her, the doorway beside the cage slowly took his attention. He straightened back up a little, looking at it in an almost solemn way. That was the room she created life in—the room she created_ him_ in. His anger subsided. Perhaps he'd given up his search too early; maybe his birthplace would hold the answer? He turned from his Princess, much to Science's relief, and entered the stone room. There was little there besides the table he had woken up screaming on many years ago and an empty wooden shelf. He blinked scanning the room blankly, but besides a small cart with scientific instruments, there was nothing. He hissed in annoyance again.

"Whyy is this so _difficult!?_" he asked to no one, just barely managing to keep his voice down. He breathed heavily and began pacing erratically. He scanned his mind for any other _possible _place it would be, if it hadn't been destroyed, of course. A pained noise escaped his lips when he couldn't think of one.

"P—" He started a thought without knowing where it was going. "_Perhapss_.. Mother Princess hid it away in her chambers? A better hiding spot?" He stared at the stone wall before slowly nodding. "Yes, _yes _that could be it! A better hiding spot!" Lemongrab hurried out of the laboratory, sending a stray beaker clattering across the floor, and made his way directly to her bedroom, happy he at least knew exactly where _that_ was.

He threw open the doors to her chambers and, with no one there to wake up, turned on the lights and began tearing it apart, desperate to find his file quickly. He pulled every drawer out of her bureau, flipped the mattress off her bed, and even uprooted the two plants on either side to no avail. He turned his attention to her dressing table and began pulling her effects out haphazardly from the tallest cabinet. He emptied it of all its contents to be sure what he searched for wasn't pressed on the side or bottom of a shelf making it hard to see. Finally he looked to the two crown crested glass cabinets above the table itself—this _had _to be it. He stood on the chair in front of the table and opened them, grabbing the first thing he saw—a square velvet box—and heaved it out of the way. He went to grab a crystal perfume bottle that had sat next to it when something fell forward off the back of the cabinet with a fairly large_ thud._ A bit of dust exhaled from what appeared to be a very old, very_ fat_, file, which apparently couldn't keep itself upright without the velvet box to support it. Lemongrab stared with surprised and greedy eyes, his hands moving faster than his eyes could. He snatched the heavy folder from its now dusty resting spot and couldn't believe how large it was—much thicker than the other files he's sorted through not half an hour earlier. He smiled a little at that fact alone; he must have been _very _heavily worked on. His eyes finally caught up to his mind and fingers and assured him this was what he'd longed for as they read across the top of the folder, 'Lemongrab'. He stepped down off the chair, gripping the file too hard, lest it escape him again.

"E.. Earl?" Came a tired voice from behind him.

He stiffened at her voice, he hadn't intended to get caught tonight—but it didn't matter now, he had the file, _his_ file, even if she lied to him now the evidence was here in his hands. He tried to focus his eyes on something besides the file but couldn't seem to, despite hearing her groan into her hands and start to lecture him.

"What are you _doing_ Earl? I thought you were _done with this_—you have your brother now, what are you doing trashing up my room!?" Princess Bubblegum rubbed her face in exasperation before looking up at him expecting an answer. She watched him shift a little before turning to her, just slightly, and staring at her with those dark eyes. She was taken off-guard by his unnerving stare, but managed to look down a little and notice what he was holding so tightly. She gasped and looked up to him again and he seemed to smile, if only faintly.

"I found it."


	3. A Companion of Sorts

AN: Feel like I need to mention, this is now (probably) definitely an AU, what with what's happened in the most recent Lemongrab episode(s). In any case, I'll try and keep it going on the same time stream, but with interactions that change the course of how they play out? And THANK YOU for the continued interest and reviews! It means so much, I'm glad you're all enjoying the story thus far.

* * *

Princess Bubblegum was taken completely off guard, not only of Lemongrab once again breaking into her castle, but of him holding the file she had tried so hard to bury away. Her eyes darted from his to the folder over and over before sucking in a breath and taking a step toward him. He filched, making her reconsider her plan of action. She knew she had to keep that file away from him, and she knew there was no way she could forcibly take it from him either. She strained a polite smile and brought herself up into her usual perfect posture.

"Earl.. W-where did you _get that?_" Her voice stressed, but she hoped not enough to set him off. He stared at her with the same dark eyes, wider now, and clutched the folder closer to him. He didn't answer. Bubblegum breathed a small sigh before stepping forward again, still attempting to seem calm. "Earl, give that to me." He responded much more violently to her words this time, pupils narrowing to slits and hunching over his file protectively, shaking violently.

"_NO!_ _You can__**not **__take it from me!_" He shrieked at her, squeezing the folder impossibly tighter. The princess was taken aback by the outburst, but regained herself enough to try and continue, if not a little more nervous now.

"Earl _no_, no you _need_ to give that to me! _It's not yours_, you at least know that stealing is wrong, _do you not?_" Her voice strained with desperation. This only seemed to anger him more.

"_I AM NOT STEALING—__**YOU ARE STEALING!**__ I cannot steal what is __**mine**__! You've stolen from me—__**STOLEN FROM ME!**_" His screams got higher and higher, repeating himself as his mind started to fog from his tantrum. He quickly made his way to the window, making his creator's heart jump up into her throat.

"_No!_" She ran towards him, stopping short when he turned to her and gave her a warning look. Her throat felt dry and her stomach clenched in a ball, but she tried to ignore the nervousness that had started to rattle her. "N-no Earl, please don't—_there's personal things in there—!_"

"_MY PERSONAL THINGS_—"

"_No_, _not_ your personal things I—" She took a moment to calm herself, rubbing her arms and looking over to an overturned plant. She sighed again and looked back to him. "_My_ personal things. I—_Look_, why are you even taking it—are you trying to make another brother? I could just—"

"NO!" He stared at her intensely, eyes shifting as he watched her. It was rare he saw his Mother Princess with such a vulnerable look in her eyes. His chest started to compress slower, and he stood up a little more. "I _need _it." Bubblegum's mind eased slightly at his slowly calming demeanor, enough so to encourage another careful step towards him.

"Need it for what, Earl?" She was close to him now, and attempted to extend a hand to him, only for him to flinch away again. He stared down at the folder in his hands.

"I need it.. to know my original purpose." The answer made her stomach drop. Immediately her eyes widened and her stomach tightened again Her mind raced across all the possibilities to keep him from finding out her original intentions for him. She could feel her face heating up from her inner turmoil and, without thinking, grabbed his arm at the shirt sleeve. Lemongrab stiffened sharply at the physical contact, but cut off his shriek in protest at the desperate look in his creator's eyes.

"Earl _please don't_, I—!" He stared in surprised wonderment at her eyes shaking with anxiety. "I don't want you to do that."'

Lemongrab continued to stare down at her in interest at the rare show of an unleveled head from his Mother Princess. He couldn't recall if he'd ever seen her so upset with his own eyes, and the idea that his purpose filled her with the emotion made him wonder even heavier what it could be. With her creation silent for so long, Princess Bubblegum was unsure if that meant he would concede to her wishes. She reached for the folder again and knew the answer when he jerked away from her, violently disrupted from his thoughts.

"_NO!_ Are you _ashamed_ of it Mother Princess—of _me!?_" His pupils narrowed again. "You _cannot_ hhide it any longer! I _will_ read it and I _will_ complete it!" He was taken off guard once more when she gripped at his arm again, the same anxiety in her eyes.

"Earl—" She bit her lip. There was no way to keep him from reading the file, and if she tried to take it from him he could easily overpower her and escape with it. The best she could do was to read it along with him, and ease the meanings behind her phrasings; perhaps even have him avoid the more embarrassing side notes all together. Then maybe she could convince him to return the file to her. She let out a shaky breathe. "If.. if you _must _read it, why don't you stay here—read it with me?" She tried to soften her expression. "I could um.. explain some terms to you, maybe even my reasonings?"

Lemongrab raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't expected _that. _He mulled the idea over for a moment; was there a downside?—Perhaps a trick, one of her childish pranks? He squinted; no, she hadn't pranked anyone since her regrowth to her proper age, as far as he knew. And maybe, he conceded, it would be useful to have her there to explain some things to him—he would never admit that he was still poorly educated in some terminology. His eyes swept to the side to watch her, then lowered to the file again.

"Y.. yes. Perhaps.." He muttered, unable to see the delight in her eyes. "Yes that would be.. acceptable." She smiled wider, clasping her hands.

"Oh good! Good." Bubblegum walked toward her bed and stopped a little bewildered, before reminding herself that the disarray was from the Lemongrab tearing apart her room. She turned to him and motioned to it. "Would you um, readjust my mattress?" Lemongrab stared at her a moment, then back to the mattress he'd overturned in his search. After a pause, he hesitantly set the folder down and went to fix her bed. She took the moment to pick up the folder, slightly more at ease with it in her possession again. The ease was short lived after the expression Lemongrab gave her when he turned back to see her holding his file. Despite the chill the dark expression gave her, she kept up her smile and approached him, handing the file off to him nonchalantly, effectively confusing and pacifying him. She sat down on the now correctly placed mattress and patted the spot next to her. He sat down, still slightly confused at her good nature. Bubblegum rubbed the knees of her lab pants, hoping the small gesture extended some trust for the time being. "Well go on." She smiled at him sweetly, gently touching the folder. Lemongrab hesitated out of excitement, his prior confusion quickly escaping his mind as more important matters came to a head. He had planned to wait and read his file with his brother, but he no longer had such commitment. He laid the file down on his lap and carefully turned the cover like the page of a book. His eyes dilated at the first page of the heavy folder; a chart with his name and dates on it. His fingers shakingly ran over it, unsure if he truly remembered it in the blur of his first day on the face of Ooo, or if he only wished to so badly.

Princess Bubblegum watched his face contort in thought, his eyes quickly scanning over every word, written and typed, in hungry excitement. She smiled a little to see him so genuinely excited about something, even if it was one of her rather well kept secrets. She scooted closer and leaned into him, following his fingers and watching him go through the first layer of paperwork she had written Glob-knows-how-long-ago. He didn't notice her leaning towards him, now fully engulfed in his search for answers. Bubblegum took in a sharp breath when he came to the paper full of scraped designs for him. She turned to him and couldn't hold back the laugh at his bafflement about his previous possible looks.

"Heheh, you don't like that?" She giggled at him. He turned her, suddenly aware of how close she was. He eased away from her a little before ''hm'ing in agreement. She laughed again. "I'd bet you're glad I gave you that pointy nose instead of that flat one." She mused, pointing out the design. He nodded with still partially wide eyes before moving on. He continued to come across doodles and scribblings of his slowly-changing-final-self fighting or lifting things; the others being of him and Princess Bubblegum. One in particular they seemed to be oddly close together, smiling about something unknown. He kept his questions silent, despite having many, opting instead to try and understand them for himself. He heard her breathe out with a hint of remorse.

"_Earl_." Her voice was soft enough to not startle him this time. "You were.. You were going to be my knight. My hero.." She trailed off, settling her eyes on a quick sketch of him and her and effectively answering the questions he wasn't asking. Lemongrab stiffened harshly, eyes wildly staring at the paper in front of him. She had _said it_, his purpose; to be a knight. He looked to her without moving his head, hoping his continued silence would keep her talking. Bubblegum's eyes looked over every sketch mark of the drawing before she sighed and continued, knowing she was keeping this at a half-truth at best. "It was a _ways_ before Finn came along—you remember? I needed someone to.. protect me." She blinked at the papers slowly. "I needed you to be _strong _for me, take care of me sometimes.." Lemongrab turned to her fully now, his wide eyes staring down to her in curious shock. She looked up to him and gave him a small smile. "You would have been wonderful at it too, If you hadn't had to interact with the other citizens.."

"Nnh.." He murmured, looking around and then back to her. He knew he'd tried to hurt her, but it was always in defense of his own body and mind. But now, to know he had been designed to protect her, he felt an unfamiliar tightening in his stomach. Lemongrab shifted a moment, looking away again. This wasn't what he had expected, and not what he wanted. This wasn't the feeling he had been hoping he'd feel upon learning of his purpose. He squinted a little, thinking that perhaps fulfilling the role would bring him the ease he was aching for.

"—But that's all in the past now." Bubblegum nodded, bringing him back to the conversation. "You aren't my knight, you're my Earl. You don't have to fulfill that role to feel whole Earl, you're already exactly what you should be." He stared at her in disbelief before scowling at her harshly. He was not going to be deterred from his goal so easily.

"_NO!_ I am _**not**_ what I should be! I was made to be your _knight_, the same way Mister Peppermint was made to be a _butler_, or the brown ball-one was made to be _a janitor!_ _Or all the servile to be servile—!_"

"Earl, _Earl! It's okay!_" She tried to ease him down, patting his shoulders. "You're not _like_ them Earl. You're different because you're _not _'servile', okay? You've always been higher rank, and then I raised your rank to Earl! If I raised Peppermint Butler's rank to knight, he wouldn't continue to be a butler, right?" She smiled a little at him, hoping he'd understand the example. Lemongrab watched her, taking in slow breathes in an attempt to relax again. He whined out a little in thought as he tried to figure out her words in his mind.

"_But._." He finally spoke. "..if I am of higher rank, and I _want _to commit a lower ranking act, I can?" Princess Bubblegum frowned, afraid he'd found a way around her deterrent.

"W-well.. yes I suppose but—"

"_Then I will!_" He straightened and stared at her definitively. "I _will_." She had been holding her breath, and released in slight exasperation. There was no convincing him, he'd have to make his mistakes like usual.

"If you insist Earl, now just—" She attempted to take the file from him but got a howl in protest.

"_Whhat are you doing!?_"

"I—You're _done_, you've got your answer! Just, _give me the file back now_." She tried to grab it again but he slapped her hands away.

"_**NO!**_ I haven't read it all yet!" Bubblegum's stomach dropped at his words. Quickly she grabbed at the file, trying to take it, or at least the remaining papers, away from him. He screeched and hissed at her, grabbing the other side and refusing to let go. They had a battle of tug-of-war for a few moments until Bubblegum was a flustered, upset mess.

"_Earl just—!_" She felt her lip tremble and immediately released the papers to him. She had sworn off this kind of emotional turmoil after she created him, and she refused to allow herself to submit to it now. Lemongrab gathered the papers neater in begrudged victory before turning to her. His expression fell as he watched her wipe over her eyes and brush her hair back with labored breathing. She looked at him past her hair; watching his uncertain face as her cheeks started to burn from embarrassment at the inevitable. Bubblegum shifted towards him again, letting her hands rest in her lap, unable to look at him now. He continued to watch her, unsure of what had happened to her. He was positive he hadn't been rough enough to harm her, which as of very recent was completely unacceptable.

"M.. Mother Princess." Her creation murmured to her, still uncertain. She sucked in her lip, biting back any emotions attached to the memories she was going to have to remember tonight. After a long bout of silence, she spoke.

"You.." She breathed. "You were to be _much more_ than my _knight_, Earl." She watched her fingers grip at her coat past the heat burning up from her cheeks and nose. "I.. I made _you_ to.. be _my_ companion.. of sorts. Like your brother to you but.. _more_." Lemongrab shifted in confusion.

"_More?_"

"Yes.. like.." The words stung in the back of her throat, too humiliated to come out. She turned more towards him and gently set a hand on the stack of papers, slowly picking at the corners of them before pulling out a paper tinted barely-pink. She set it on the top of the pile to let him see, and he cocked his head to look at it. It was another sketch, a little lumpier, but you could make out the shape of two figures, huddled very closely together, the one that appeared to be Princess Bubblegum resting on what he assumed was _his _shoulder. She sighed and gave her own wrist a squeeze for encouragement. "Like.. a lover."

She felt the words leave her body in the air she breathed them out on, but was still unsure if she'd really said them, until Lemongrab turned to her with his pupils in the tightest slits she'd ever seen. He stared at her, breathless, doubting he could have truly heard her correctly. But she continued to stare at him sadly, and he knew it had to be true. His mouth parted in disbelief before turning and staring at the floor, hunched over. This was much more than he expected. To become his creator's lover; was he even capable of that? A knight was easy enough, but this was something beyond his frame of mind—he hadn't even the foggiest idea of what love even truly _was_. Bubblegum watching his eyes zigzag across the floor of her room with a sad expression. She once again placed a delicate hand on his shoulder.

"I hope you know then now.. _why _you can't 'fulfill your purpose'..?" She whispered to him. He didn't look at her, but nodded, humming through his backtracking thoughts. She breathed a silent sigh of relief and removed her hand from his shoulder. After a moment, he gathered the papers and rose from the bed, slightly disheveled. She followed him to the window, and noticed that they both had a difficult time making eye contact after her confession. To her surprise, he tucked the folder under his arm before hopping up on the ledge.

"Wait, Earl—the file." She motioned at it, as if asking for it back. He shook his head.

"No. I'm keeping it." Her heart sunk a little, but she was too humiliated to fight him about it now. She nodded softly before bidding him goodnight. He winced at her, but bowed slightly. "Good-night." He managed before leaping off the ledge and into the dark of the Candy Kingdom night.

Bubblegum watched the window with a heavy heart for a few moments. Maybe it was better, for her at least, that he took the file; she knew deep down she hadn't destroyed it because she wasn't fully ready to let the feeling she had while imagining him go. Lemongrab would most likely inadvertently destroy it, and she could finally be done with it—all for the better. She turned to her devastated room and listlessly stared at the chaos before slinking to her bed and lying down. She needed some sleep.

* * *

AN: Wow that was super long compared to the others! Lemongrab finally knows the truth, what's he going to do next? Hopefully the answers will come soon! Thank you all again, please review~! (I love them, they are my life juice)


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